Expanding wildlife ranges
Since I've been hiking, some wildlife species have expanded their ranges; more have retracted or become far less common throughout their range. I wish all range expansion was of native animals to the region but some non-native North American animals have been introduced for hunting.
The most publicized example is the reintroduction of wolves to the Yellowstone area and Idaho. I've seen Yellowstone wolves while hiking several times and heard wolves and seen tracks in the Lolo Pass area of Idaho. I'm pleased with the spread of wolves in the west although I'm aware that not everyone is so pleased especially local ranchers. I graduated with a degree in biology from Idaho State University in Pocatello and remember persistent rumors of wolves in the Yellowstone area when I was there 35 years ago. In one case I heard directly from the participants who were biology graduate students. They had gone cross-country skiing in Yellowstone and saw what they thought was a wolf. In the same area they found tracks in snow larger than coyote tracks. Of course other animals than a wild wolf could have made these tracks. A pet wolf or dog or escaped wolf/dog/coyote mix could have made these tracks. And, the tracks may have been enlarged by melting and/or made by a very large coyote. It is certain that even if wolves did move through the area after local extirpation, they did not establish a permanent breeding population before reintroduction. Still it is pleasant to think some wolves may have added their genes to the packs without human intervention.
Speaking of Yellowstone Park, mountain goats can now often be seen in the northeast area on and around Mt. Barronette. Mountain goats were introduced to the Absaroka and Gallatin mountains in the past, they are not native to the Yellowstone area. I hope they do not cause the same problems as the introduced mountain goats have caused in the Olympic Mountains, particularly destruction of alpine vegetation.
On my recent trip to the Methow area, I saw turkeys along the road a few times. These are also non-native animals, introduced for hunting. I'm not aware of any problems yet from turkey introductions but I know non-native introductions of other species have caused serious problems including extinction of native populations.
Growing up in north Idaho, I do not remember seeing Stellar's blue jays in local rural areas. Sometime in the 1980s Stellar's blue jays expanded into the small towns and rural areas. I know Stellar's blue jays were in north Idaho before then, the Lewis and Clark expedition clearly describes them. Did they expand their range into areas near people or did they move back into areas they had previously lived in but were pushed out?
Labels: Animals
I hate bear bells
I don't really hate bear bells but they are my least favorite means of warning bears that people are approaching. This entry is to discuss some of the noise-making methods I've encountered and some of my thoughts. Sometimes hikers are more enthusiastic about noise-making than I like but I do recognize the importance of warning grizzlies of people and that my threshold for making noise may be different from others and not necessarily optimum.
Beyond old jokes, I'm uncertain how effective bear bells really are, others with much more knowledge than I have expressed this concern, a search on Google shows several relevant hits. Also, the noise from the bells may make it harder to hear bear sounds. But mainly I dislike bear bells because they aren't easy to turn off and so on crowded tails and in parking areas you hear their noise when not needed. Once on Glacier Park's Highline trail, I was followed for nearly 5 miles by a couple with bells. I tried stopping, speeding up, and slowing down but they continued to pace me.
Some people whistle more or less continuously; something I can't do. To me, the volume isn't enough and it sounds like birds. Of course I'm not a bear but I doubt that whistling is very effective.
Recently, Glacier Park has suggested clapping hands in addition to talking loudly or other noise making strategies. That is difficult to do if using hiking poles but otherwise seems easy and flexible.
My usual method is to talk loudly or shout especially when alone and going into a wooded area or other area out of view. I usually shout something like 'coming up the trail' so I don't have to think about what I'm shouting. I've always thought shouting 'hey bear' to be a bad idea; more like you are calling the bear. With shouting, I can stop and listen, it isn't continuous. The only problem is I sometimes run out of wind.
Occasionally I meet people who seem to be quite anxious about bears and make noise in areas that I consider unnecessary. Now again, I'm not an expert and maybe they have a point. It is just on a crowded trail, lots of noise becomes distracting. A couple of years ago, I met a man hiking into the Alpine Lakes region of Washington's central Cascades who was shouting every few minutes 'hey bear' quite loudly. Washington does have a few grizzlies but in the north Cascades not known to go as far south as we were hiking. Also, there probably were 50 people ahead of him on the trail or at the closer lake. While he couldn't have know that, the number of cars at the trailhead should have been a clue. I felt sorry for the couple about 1/4 mile ahead of him listening to him all the way up the trail.
Labels: Animals
WA Cascade Grizzlies, part 2
In my previous post, I talked about how I felt about having grizzlies in the WA Cascade mountains where I hike and camp. While I like it, other backcountry users have expressed fears and reservations. I can respect their feelings but do feel that many are due to people's lack of knowledge of or familiarity with grizzlies.
Some people are fearful of the bears, for themselves, their children, and their pets or livestock. This fear isn't irrational, grizzlies do kill and severely injure people and may attack livestock and pets. However the likelihood of a grizzly attack in areas of such low density is quite low and people can do things to reduce even that danger. A favorite book is Stephen Herrero's
Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance in which he discusses the ways to reduce the risk. I've discussed some of the things I do when hiking or camping, being alert and making noise hiking and keeping a clean camp are ways I reduce my risk. Herrero goes much further and talks about living and working in areas of high bear frequency and surviving an attack. Also, Wikepedia's list of
fatal bear attacks lists more black bear than grizzly. Also of course lightening, hypothermia, falls, drowning, getting lost, and combinations of these kill backcountry users every year.
Others worry about restrictions on backcountry use, closed trails, camp areas, etc. Certainly in Yellowstone NP some areas are closed to entry for specific periods, mainly spring, and sometimes when grizzlies spend time in an area. It is possible that some parts of the Cascades could have periodic closures or even become off limits. I hope not permanently but could accept seasonal closures or area closures because of grizzly activity. I doubt this would be much of a problem unless grizzlies started frequenting popular areas or authorities got overzealous. Of course I would be disappointed if I got to a trail or campsite and learned it was closed, but I'm used to closures because of fire, salvage logging, or washouts. I've learned to have alternative routes or sites and to check ahead of time for accessibility.
Labels: Animals
Washington Cascade Grizzlies
Grizzly bears in the North Cascades of WA state have been in the news lately, both the monthly magazine of the Washington Trail Association and Conservation Northwest have had articles about grizzly recovery. Because I do a lot of hiking and camping in the north Cascades, I am very interested in this subject. That there are grizzlies in the north Cascades is not new to me, I've known for years a few grizzlies wandered through if not lived full time there. A couple of acquaintances have thought they had seen grizzlies at different times and gave a description more credible than a 'big brown bear'.
I'm not disturbed by the presense of grizzlies in my prime hiking and camping areas. I hike and camp every year in Yellowstone and/or Glacier NPs where grizzly concentrations are much higher. Also, I grew up and learned to hike and camp in far northern Idaho and am comfortable with the possibility of encountering one. I don't take the same precautions locally as I do in Yellowstone or Glacier, I don't make lots of noise when hiking or carry my bear spray. I probably would do so if I were in an area with a known grizzly 'frequenting the area' (NP speak for a bear has been seen in area).
Having local grizzlies encourages me to keep a very clean camp, something I should do anyway to minimize visits by black bear and other animals. Skunks are not fun to have in your campsite and provide good motivation to keep it clean. Knowing there might be a grizzly causes me to be more alert while hiking in several ways, to look for bear sign and to be aware of what is around me. Because of this, I notice things, including animals, I might not otherwise be aware of. I think having grizzlies in the local mountains is a good thing.
Labels: Animals
Bear books and attacks
I am heading for Yellowstone National Park to hike and camp this weekend. In preparation for my trip I just finished reading
The Mark of the Grizzly by Scott McMillion. The book discusses some recent grizzly attacks and what various people thought they might have wrong to provoke the attack and what they did right or wrong during the attack. Of course some didn't do anything "wrong", they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and surprised a grizzly. Others stated that they didn't know whether the actions taken during the attack made it worse or helped reduce injuries. I enjoyed the book and it made me think about being in grizzly country and hiking alone. I won't stop hiking alone and do carry bear spray and hope not to have close encounters with bears.
I've read several other books on bears and bear attacks, most notably Steven Herrero's
Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance. Herrero's book offers specific guidance on avoiding and surviving both black and grizzly bear attacks and is considered the best text on the subject.
This morning I saw a story on a
bear mauling in Yellowstone in the Seattle Times. I wish there was more information such as where the man was hiking. I looked in the
Morning Report but it was not yet reported there.
I am aware the actual danger from a bear attack in Yellowstone or Glacier Parks or elsewhere in the USA lower 48 states is low, probably much lower than the danger of driving to these locations. Still, it is a lot more exciting to consider the dangers of bears than of driving. And just as I want to avoid a car accident, I want to avoid an attack by a grizzly or any animal.
Labels: Animals, YNP
Poisonous snakes
Most of the places I hike I don't need to worry about poisonous snakes, I mostly hike in western WA and we don't have any poisonous snakes here. I do hike in other places, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and eastern WA that do have poisonous snakes. I grew up in Idaho and saw a number of rattlesnakes, none particularly aggressive and not worrisome. When I was in Utah in Fall 2005, I saw a small, pale rattlesnake in Arches NP along a trail. It was moving away from the hikers as fast as it could. Last June in Zion I saw a red and black banded snake near a trail. I could not remember how to distinguish a King snake from a Coral snake and none of the other hikers close by could remember either. I took a picture and later decided it definitely was a King snake. Still, it was a type of snake I had never seen before and interesting.
My closest recent encounter with a poisonous snake was in WA state along the Methow River a few miles upstream from Mazama. One fall afternoon I was hiking back to my pickup along a rocky trail. I was tired and hot, the sun was heating the rocks, and I wasn't paying much attention to the trail. I looked down at one point just in time to avoid stepping on a large snake. It was coiled, poised to strike. I couldn't see its tail and it wasn't rattling. I thought it was a pine or bull snake, they look similar to rattlesnakes and may mimic their behavior. I stepped back anyway and the snake uncoiled and moved back into the rocks. When its tail became visible, it started rattling. I was a lot more aware of where I was walking for the rest of that hike. I shouldn't have been so surprised to see a rattlesnake, I know the Methow Valley has them and and several nearby trails have warning signs. Besides, the area around the trailhead for the trail I was on is called Rattlesnake Camp.
Labels: Animals
Other animal encounters
Bears are of course not the only dangerous animals when hiking. I haven't met a cougar while hiking for many years, certainly I would be anxious if a cougar remained in the same area when I was hiking. Moose are another animal that occasionally charge people and cause injuries. I know I treat moose with respect and as much distance as I can manage when hiking but have still come within 20 feet of one accidently. Elk, especially females with calves and rutting bulls are also dangerous, last fall I retreated back down a trail when a bull seemed to regard me as a rival. I was glad I had retreated as I watched him attack a small tree and I decided to find another trail to hike.
Except for the 2 close grizzly encounters mentioned
here, bison have caused me the most concern about my safety. Of course I only hike around bison in Yellowstone National Park, I encounter other animals in a variety of Parks and forests. More than once I have walked far too close to a bison laying down and partly hidden by vegetation. Hearing a 'huff' from a bull bison less than 15 feet away does get my attention. One time I found myself in the middle of a herd of moving bison where I could not see anyplace to move away from them. I moved to an area of dead trees, some standing and some down, in the hope that would deter a charge. I sheltered behind a standing dead tree as the herd went by me. One cow and 2 year old went by about 5 feet away. Another time I looked back along a trail and a herd of bison were coming along the trail rapidly toward me. This trail did not have a good place to get off trail so I started running as fast as I could until I was able to turn off the trail and shelter behind a boulder. When I started, the bison were about 400 feet behind me, at the end about 50 feet.
From my last 3 entries I almost sound as if my hiking were fraught with fearful encounters with animals and that I was always nervous. That certainly isn't true, while an encounter may startle me and cause some brief fear, nearly always the anxiety soon gives way to a sense of priviledge to see such animals in a minimally altered environment. Part of the reason I hike in places such as Yellowstone and Glacier Parks is because of the potentially dangerous animals; the awareness of danger, not only from animals, makes hiking much different than walking along a nature trail.
Labels: Animals
Black Bears and hiking
I frequently see black bears when hiking both in National Parks, mostly Yellowstone, Glacier, and North Cascades, and in forests. I enjoy seeing the bears and get a thrill of excitement when when I do but usually am not anxious about black bears or alter my hiking plans. I've settled on a rule of thumb, if the bear doesn't move away when it sees me if we are close, I will move away.
A few years ago I was hiking in the Wenatchee National Forest and heard noises ahead of me. Thinking it might be a bear, I called out several times but continued. As I came around a bend, I saw a large, golden (black) bear tearing a log apart just above the trail. I stopped and considered how to detour around but decided against it since I wasn't familiar with the trail. My next thought was to take a picture but my camera was in my pack and watching the bear who was about twice my weight rip the log convinced me I should turn back on the trail. A few minutes later, I heard a large animal coming toward me through the brush, fortunately it was a deer.
More recently I was hiking down into the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone from the Blacktail Deer Plateau and saw 2 bears ahead of me. Because this was grizzly country, I was more careful but got to a position where I could watch them. I was reasonably certain they were black bears but they were also moving across the entire trail and there was no good way to go around. I finally decided to go back and take the Resue Creek trail.
In both of the cases above I'm sure the bears were aware of me, I wasn't that far away and had been making noise. I've wondered what I would do if I were to meet a bear on the way
out of a trail. I guess I would just do my best.
Some of my bear encounters have been funny, at least in retrospect. I was coming down Specimen Ridge in YNP one warm sunny day and as I came down a gully, I heard a scrambling just behind me. I looked back and a bear had come down almost to the same point in a different gully. It scrambled away while I stood there with my mouth open and fumbling at my bear spray. I looked down the trail and saw 2 hikers getting up off the ground so I met them and we talked. They had laid down once they saw the bear so it wouldn't see them. Later on the hike I saw the bear again a few times and verified it was a black. I've seen black bears several times around the Yellowstone Picnic area and Specimen Ridge trail but didn't expect to see one up on the treeless ridge.
One fall day I was coming down from the Thunderer in the northeast of YNP when I walked off the trail a few feet to take a picture of something. I almost stumbled over a black bear I presumably startled out of its day bed, I was less than 15 feet away at the closest. I had my camera in hand and took a picture but the picture is blurred, I wasn't still.
The last 2 encounters were amusing but also a reminder that I need to be aware of my surroundings. I could easily have gotten too close to a variety of animals and gotten hurt. I am lucky that the bears were not aggressive.
Labels: Animals
Grizzly encounters
I often see bears when hiking both in National Parks and in other areas. Seeing a black bear, of whatever color, is thrilling and enjoyable but seeing a grizzly is much more exciting. I carry pepper spray when hiking in grizzly territory and make noise but I still hike alone and I've seen grizzlies a few times, mostly at a good distance. I've twice encountered grizzlies at less than 100 yards when hiking and while I treasure the memory, at the time I mainly wanted to get to a safe area. Both encounters were during the day, in bright sunshine.
The first close grizzly encounter I had was in Glacier National Park on the Oldman Lake trail. Shortly before, I met a couple of hikers who warned me of the grizzly but said she was not close to the trail and other people were near. I readied my pepper spray and continued. When I saw her and 2 cubs of the year about 100 feet away, she was clearly agitated, moving back and forth and huffing. I rapidly turned around and went back down the trail, looking over my shoulder as I walked, thinking "don't run and don't fall". She didn't charge or follow and I decided not to continue on the trail that day even after I met other hikers who planned to continue. I could have walked with them but was too spooked, spooked enough that when I saw another grizzly much further away, I rapidly left the area.
My next grizzly encounter was in Yellowstone National Park on Swan Lake Flat about 1/2 mile from the trailhead. I had done a loop trail through the hoodoos and over Snowy Pass and was returning to the trailhead near Golden Gate. As I came around a hillside, I saw 2 grizzlies trotting toward me about 70 feet away. I walked toward the nearest climbable tree while watching the grizzlies (female and 2 year old) and getting my pepper spray ready. The bears soon saw me and stopped, then they moved slightly away. I found a better tree and watched them and put new film in my camera. Of course I had taken the last picture on the roll earlier in the hike. I spent about 10 minutes watching and taking pictures before moving on. Obviously I wasn't as frightened this time, probably because the bears were not aggressive. I was amused that I could watch cars on the main road go by at the same time I watched the bears who were not visible from the road.
Labels: Animals
